


The Doctor, The TARDIS, Somewhere in Time and Space

by bookofcalm



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who: Past Doctor Adventures - Various Authors
Genre: Gen, Not Britpicked, Season/Series 05, an awfully small adventure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-23
Updated: 2013-05-23
Packaged: 2017-12-12 17:14:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/814009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookofcalm/pseuds/bookofcalm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Amy and the Doctor go pick up some mail.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Doctor, The TARDIS, Somewhere in Time and Space

**Author's Note:**

> Written in 2011 for the LJ prompt comm itsproductivity, that April 1st being _Write about mail._ Thanks to Sophi for mild poking. The story is self-contained, but I didn't really get to write everything I wanted. What Happened After is in the end notes.
> 
> Countess Gallowglass, her cat, and the premise come from the Seventh Doctor and Ace PDA novel _Relative Dementias_ by Mark Michalowski.

"Doctor," said Amy, "it's not that I don't _appreciate_ London, but why are we here? 2015 looks exactly like 2010! 2115, _that_ would be different. Why can't we go 2115?"

"Well, I said you could stay in the TARDIS," said the Doctor. "It won't even take that long! I've just got to go check something. Important business, and all that." He smiled, and tugged lightly on the end of Amy's scarf. "Come along then, Pond. I'm sure I remember how to get there . . ." 

Amy followed the Doctor, dodging the other people wandering around Carnaby Street. She wondered for a moment whether they couldn't take a bit of time to go shopping after the Doctor's errand. The TARDIS wardrobe room had a nice selection, but it just wasn't the same. Without even noticing, Amy began to veer sideways.

"Amy!" The Doctor's voice startled her into stopping. "This way, come on." The Doctor grabbed Amy's hand and pulled her in the direction of a wall. Amy (not having planned on walking into a wall today), yanked her hand back. The Doctor looked exasperated. "Really, Amy!" he said. "Nothing to worry about." With that, the Doctor grabbed Amy and gave her a shove into the wall.

Amy stumbled and kept going, suddenly finding herself in an alley.

"What was that?" Amy asked. "What's _this_?"

"Hologram with an aversion field," the Doctor said cheerfully. "People just walk right by and don't even notice they've tried to avoid the place! We're here to visit an old friend. It's been ages since I saw her." He paused. "Well, for me it has." A little farther along, they stopped in front of a door. The Doctor looked around for a moment, clearly expecting there to be a bell or doorknocker. "No? Well then," he murmured, and rapped out a quick rhythm. The door swung open. "Come on in, Amy."

Looking around in astonishment, Amy could only think that the place looked very expensive. Also a bit tacky. "You have old friends in rich places, eh, Doctor?"

"Something like that," said the Doctor. "She came up from fairly humble beginnings, you know."

A woman swept into the room, looking, to Amy's eyes, a bit old and glittery. The dripping with expensive jewelry kind of glittery. The woman gave a delighted cry. "Doctor!" she said. "How lovely to see you! It's been barely any time at all, yet I feel it has been an age!"

The Doctor bowed and kissed her hand. "Countess," he said. "You _did_ request that I not take so long between visits."

"Yes, and how many bodies have you been through since I saw you three years ago?" The woman sighed elegantly and looked disapproving.

"Rather a lot, I'm afraid," said the Doctor. "Oh, pardon me, I'm being very rude! Countess, this is my companion Amy Pond." Amy tried her best to curtsy, but it was a bit difficult in her miniskirt. "Amy, this is the Countess Gallowglass. She's been keeping my mail for me since Nineteen Seventy-something."

"Lovely to meet you, dear," said the Countess. "I'll just fetch your mail, Doctor. There's quite a bit." She glided along into the next room.

"Your _mail_?" Amy whispered.

"Yes, well, 'The Doctor, The TARDIS, Somewhere in Time and Space' isn't the most stable address, is it?" the Doctor whispered back defensively. "I've known the Countess for hundreds of years! She's very reliable!"

"You said the Seventies," said Amy.

"Did you miss the time travel, Pond? The Countess used to look after more people, but what with various happenings and all it's mostly just some Time Agents, the odd alien who can't get a respectable post office box, and me, now. It's sad, really." A cat wandered in, ignored Amy completely, and rubbed itself against the Doctor's legs. Amy felt a little betrayed when the Doctor scooped it up. "Hello, darling. I see someone's gotten friendlier. Have you been good for Mummy? Keeping her safe?" The cat purred and nudged the Doctor's hand, demanding attention. "Yes, fine, you shameless thing. Just don't forget who rescued you from those nasty Annarene."

"Baby talk?" Amy asked. " _Really_?"

The Doctor ignored her and kept petting the cat, which soon decided that it had had enough attention and jumped down. A moment later the Countess walked in, carrying a stack of envelopes. "Here you are," she said. "More than last time."

"Well, I've been making friends," said the Doctor absently, shuffling through the envelopes and opening a few as he went. "Postcard from Martha, invitation to a charity gala, three letters from Wilf, parking ticket, parking ticket, invitation to an art show, threatening note from - oh lovely, he's alive, naughty postcard from Jack, invitation to Luke's graduation ceremony for university, invitation to Luke's graduation ceremony for his doctorate, science journal, envelope of newspaper clippings, love letter, threatening note from the Master . . . didn't he have anything better to do than write things and get minions to mail them years later? I suppose not. Junk mail, junk mail, how do they even get this address, something from U.N.I.T, blah blah blah. I'll sort through it more later. Amy, I'm terribly sorry, but we're going to have to go to some of these events before I completely forget. Oh, you'll love Luke, he's brilliant. Must be nearly your age now, come to think of it. Sort of."

"My age and he has a doctorate?" Amy asked. "Why didn't you take _him_ with you if he's so brilliant?"

"His mum would kill me and the Judoon would throw him in jail. Best everyone stay where they are, I think. Why, are you jealous?"

"No!"

"Well, good, no reason to be," said the Doctor. He turned to Countess Gallowglass. "My dear Countess, I'm dreadfully sorry to run off again, but some of these require immediate attention. You understand my social obligations, of course. One of these appears to be from Ace. Shall I tell her you said hello?"

"Oh, no," said the Countess. "She sent me an invitation as well. It was a lovely party." She hesitated. "You weren't there."

"I suppose I'll have to make my apologies, then. Doubt she'll mind. Well, we're off. Lovely to see you, and I'll try to make my next visit be less than a decade. Perhaps we shall even have time for tea. Until then!"

"Somehow I doubt we shall manage tea," said the Countess. "I look forward to our next meeting, Doctor. You are of course welcome to write at any time."

The Doctor laughed. "You know me, I'm a great writer of letters."

Countess Gallowglass, in an astonishing display of unladylike behavior, rolled her eyes.

The Doctor and Amy turned and went out the door. As they walked back out to the street, the Doctor handed Amy half of the envelopes. "Thanks, Pond. Tell you what, I've got quite a bit of reading ahead of me once we get back to the TARDIS. Go have a few hours out on the town, if you like."

"I sort of want to read your mail now," Amy admitted.

"We'll see about that," said the Doctor, and they walked through the crowds back to the TARDIS.

**Author's Note:**

> And then I am sure they read the mail and managed to go to maybe one event before more pressing things cropped up and about a year and a half later the Doctor remembered to go back and go to Luke's ceremony for his doctorate. The celebration after was promptly crashed by aliens. THE END.


End file.
